


Auxiliary (Three Ply)

by whenyoudesertme (phrenk)



Series: Auxiliary [3]
Category: Arashi (Band), Japanese Actor RPF, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-15
Updated: 2010-12-15
Packaged: 2017-10-13 16:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phrenk/pseuds/whenyoudesertme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nino is a famous actor and Sho is his over-worked manager.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Auxiliary (Three Ply)

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted [here](http://whenyoudesertme.livejournal.com/18066.html); still unpaired as of yet. A bit of a lull chapter before we meet Ohno at last. ♥

Sho was not looking forward to the explaining he'd have to do on the way home from picking Nino up from his drama filming. He wasn't worried about getting in trouble for making the decision about Aiba without Nino so much as for setting the amount of the rent without Nino, especially since a condition of Aiba's agreeing to move was that he wouldn't pay more for rent than he was currently. Aiba had explained that he made a decent amount of money taking care of people's pets but his roommate was a struggling artist who got most of his income working as Aiba's receptionist, which didn't exactly add to their household finances.

Sho had smiled and nodded while inwardly trying to remember exactly what Aiba's secretary had looked like, sure of little but that the guy was nothing like the sweet girlfriend he'd pictured Aiba having. He could only picture spiky hair on a head bent low over pieces of string and he tuned back into Aiba to find him with a fond look on his face as he talked about Oh-chan's art and talent and propensity for fishing for hours on end. Sho had agreed to the amount of the rent just to stop his chatter and could only hope Nino would go along with it.

When Sho got to the set Nino was slouched in a chair in his dressing room as people buzzed around him. One person was removing his makeup, another was helping him out of his jacket, and a third was rehearsing lines with him for the next day's shooting, although her main job was fixing Nino's hair. They were all women this time around, and pretty women at that, Sho thought, and he'd yet to become comfortable in their presence. He loitered around the door and hoped that Nino would be done soon.

Nino looked exhausted and Sho wondered, not for the first time, if Nino enjoyed his work. He knew Nino had a strange sense of obligation, as well as having an ironclad rule not to be picky about the kind of work he did. It made him easy to manage (though only where work was concerned) but Sho would go through a lot more trouble than he did if it meant he knew that Nino was happy. Asking Nino was unproductive, given Nino's skill at answering questions with statements that were irrefutable but didn't reveal anything when you actually thought about them.

As Sho pondered on Nino while waiting for him to be ready to go, standing back by the door and trying his best not to give off a hovering air, Nino's costar came in and approached the cluster of people by the mirror, long hair and long dress making her look much more delicate than she was.

Nino had worked with Mizukawa Asami in his first drama when they were both teenagers and a commercial together in the past year had cemented them as a pairing that viewers favored despite the relatively low volume of work they'd done together. The current drama's producers had decided to capitalize on that affection and give her the role of Nino's lawyer, the one who championed his cause when everyone else abandoned him, and with whom Nino's character eventually fell in love. (Sho didn't have confirmation on the last part but he figured it was a pretty safe bet.) Sho liked Asami, despite not knowing her much, because Nino liked Asami, and Sho hoped she would make Nino smile on days when the serious storyline and heavy schedule started to drag down Nino's mood.

Sho caught Nino's eye through the mirror and motioned that he would wait in the car, to which Nino gave an almost imperceptible nod. As Sho walked out he heard Nino and Asami begin to discuss the next day's filming and he wondered to himself whether she was included in the people Nino had loved unrequitedly, as he was always talking about in interviews, about how he fell in love frequently but rarely said anything about it, preferring to keep his love perfect and the relationship hypothetical.

Sho tried to picture Nino and Asami dating and fought back a chuckle. Those two would probably goad each other into drinking too much and end up causing a scandal by passing out on the floor in a restaurant. Nino wasn't much of a drinker but he could be supremely competitive and Asami liked to push his buttons and laugh at him, from what Sho had seen and heard. Then again, Sho couldn't imagine Nino loving anyone who was meek. Above all else Nino liked to be _interested_ by people, and Nino and Asami spent a lot of their time laughing together. Sho filed the idea of Asami dating Nino away as something to think about further.

Sho buckled his seatbelt automatically when he got in the car before giving an awkward huff (to the Nino in his head who was amused at his expense) and unbuckling it. He wondered if he spent too much of his time worrying about Nino and he resolved to think about something else until Nino emerged.

He got out his phone and sent some mails he'd meant to get around to earlier and then grabbed the newspaper from the passenger seat before realizing he'd read it that morning while eating breakfast with Jun. He thought maybe he'd ask Jun about Nino's--but no, he wasn't thinking about Nino right then.

He tried to imagine how Aiba was doing with the bustle and tension of moving. When Sho had moved, over a week ago now, he'd stressed over what to bring and what to store until he'd grown so sick of the ordeal that he'd decided impulsively to give away most of his belongings. Luckily he'd recovered himself before they'd actually been donated and they were in storage now instead. He couldn't picture Aiba stressed to the point of snappishness but he could picture him frazzled, hands running through his hair as he bounded from end to end of his apartment and tried to do ten things at once.

"What's with that dopey grin?" said a loud voice right next to Sho's ear, startling him so badly he lost his grip on his phone as he jumped. Nino's hand reached in (and just how he'd gotten the door open without Sho hearing Sho didn't know) and grabbed the phone from the floor.

"Who's Aiba Masaki?" Nino asked, not sounding any too curious about the answer.

Sho snatched the phone back and deleted the message he'd unconsciously started to draft while thinking about Aiba. Nino walked around to the passenger side and got in, slumping immediately and yawning.

"Well?"

"Aiba-san is your new dog-walker," Sho started before Nino cut him off with a loud harrumph.

"I meant let's _go_ ," he said, gesturing at the road in front of them. He curled up with his legs underneath him (and Sho resisted telling him that it was unsafe while in the car) and pulled his hood up over his head. "But I'm glad someone will be taking care of Mayu-chan," he said as he leaned against the window.

"Yes," Sho said, feeling guilty for what was about to pull Nino out of what sounded like a near-sleep already. "He said that the green house would be fine for him and he'd move in as soon as possible."

"That's n--WHAT. No. Tell me when we get home," Nino whined. "I'm going to sleep and none of this conversation has happened yet."

Sho closed his mouth and focused on driving safely.

When they got home Nino quickly stole his way out of the car and all the way to his couch before Sho could catch up with him. He had a game loading as Sho got to the living room and Jun was right behind Sho, protesting that dinner was ready and it wouldn't wait for Nino's game.

Nino sighed, turning off the television. "Sho-chan," he said wearily. Sho came over and sat by Nino, feeling like a naughty child about to be scolded by his parents. Jun came in and perched on the coffee table, looking curious.

Suddenly Nino's head came up to ask, "Where's Mayu-chan?"

Jun pointed under the couch, a bitter look on his face. Nino held out his hand for the puppy and she came out warily. She pretended not to notice Jun's presence and jumped up on the couch with Nino and Sho. Sho stroked her silky fur, remembering Aiba's assertion that she was going to be a big dog and wondering if she'd grown even since the afternoon.

"Spill," Nino said.

Sho spilled as quickly as he could, "Mayu-chan loved Aiba-san but he lives far away with his nose-picking roommate and I was desperate and the guest house is open so I said he could pay rent and live there so they're going to move in this week."

Nino narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "' _They_ '? The nose-picking roommate is coming, too?"

"And their dog, Hana-chan. And their rent is going to be sernjuanamoen per month," Sho mumbled, putting off the moment of true confrontation.

"Mayu-chan, go lie down," Nino said tersely. The dog perked at her name but clearly hadn't been to any sort of obedience school. Sho held onto her tightly, hoping Nino would get less angry when there was a cute puppy between them. "Say that number again, Sho-chan. Enunciate."

"370,000 yen," Sho said clearly, trying not to hang his head. "It's... it's a big move for them, and on such short notice, and their rental agreement is up but not until the end of the month so they're losing money on that, and ... it's for Mayu-chan?" His arguments sounded weak even to himself but the puppy underneath his hand looked up at him at the sound of her name and he straightened a little. "It's for Mayu-chan, Nino, and we don't have time to be stingy."

Nino groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "You are washing the dishes every day for _six months_."

Jun spoke up at that, saying quickly, "Sho-kun is not touching my dishes."

"Then he's mowing the lawn every week for a year," said a sad voice from between Nino's palms.

"Sho-kun is not touching my lawns, either," Jun said implacably.

"What do you hate doing, then, Jun-kun? What can Sho-chan do to make up for his perfidy?"

Sho widened his eyes pleadingly at Jun. Jun looked at him, considering.

Finally Jun said, "I don't like mowing through dog poop. Sho-chan can be in charge of collecting Mayu-chan's poop."

Nino didn't lift his head but swooped one arm out dramatically to point at Sho.

"Done."


End file.
